


The Number Of Six

by WolfWillow



Category: The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 01:44:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4121641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfWillow/pseuds/WolfWillow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living in a house with five original vampires, Elena Mikaelson is the only human in her family. Her oldest brother, Elijah, makes sure nothing happens to her but when Elena takes her life in her own hands, there is nothing he can do to protect her. Ever tried running away from something you don't know is chasing you? It's daily routine for the youngest Mikaelson, until she meets the wolves. Caught between two different worlds, Elena is not sure who the bad and the good guys are anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

''I hate Tuesdays.'' Caroline sat down on the empty brown chair next to me, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.  
''You know why? '' Before I could answer, she explained. Apparently, Caroline thought Tuesday was a waist, that it had no use at all. Monday was the day after the weekend, there had to be one. Wednesday was half a day, which everyone liked. And Thursday is the it's-almost-weekend-day and then Friday, well, it didn't even need explaining. So the only day in the week that shouldn't be there, was Tuesday.  
A loud cough in front of the class, made us all quiet, everyone turned around, facing the clean blackboard. The teacher had come in with a suitcase in one hand and an apple in the other, which she placed in the corner of her neat desk.

Ms. Appelo took an apple to class, every day, which made us call her Ms apple instead of Appelo. It wasn't weird she brought them, what was, was that she didn't even like apples. She did it to look more like The Perfect Teacher, the one with the straight clothes, the strict face, big glasses and a pony tail. After setting down her case, straightening her skirt and grimacing, she sat down, legs crossed. As it was said in the book.

I wasn't lying when I said there was a book, there was, in the top drawer. One of my class mates had found out, I never understood how. Everyone thought of her as a crazy teacher, to dedicated to her work. Even her colleagues thought so. And she kind of was, unless you thought keeping charts of all your students grades wasn't weird.

It was lunch break, finally. The weather was good and the food.. eatable. Today was a good day, I could feel it, there was something in the air. Bonnie sat next to me, her beautiful black hair just falling over her shoulders. With her great free-flowing hair , she was my only friend who never seemed to have split ends. Unfair, I know. She was wearing her every day look, not bad dressed but not overdressed either, just normal.  
Caroline, in the meantime, had moved on to another topic, a party at Tyler's. When she was about to explain why we really needed to be there, Bonnie stopped her.  
''Tell us, now. Who is he?'' Caroline's eyes widened which made her perfect trimmed eyebrows go up a little but only for a second because she recovered fast.  
''What do you mean?'' She asked, playing dumb. I knew better and so did Bonnie. From experience, we knew Caroline liked the attention pointed at her, the blonde wanted us to ask further. So we did. More out of habit than curiosity, I mean, try to get excited about the same story you hear almost every week. It was a routine we had to stick to, because we were good friends. Caroline liked a guy, they dated, she dumped him, she cried and we comforted her until the next victim came lurking around the corner.

''It's Tyler.'' She blurted out. Fidgeting with her nails, she looked down and I slapped her fingers. It was our rule, if anyone ever bit their nails or did anything to ruin them, we slapped each other's hands. After she threw me a quick thank-you, I started talking.  
''So Tyler. Doesn't he have a girlfriend?'' If I had known then , that by just saying this one sentence, we'd be talking about it the whole day, I wouldn't have said it. I really wouldn't have.

The day was over and it was one of the days that I didn't hate seeing my brothers car parked on the other side of the street. Nearly forgetting to watch left and right, I crossed and got in the BMW. I had four brothers and a sister, I was the youngest. Elijah was behind the wheel, which wasn't one of his habits. Usually, he let one of the others do everything that involved me, like taking me to and from school, he did other things, things where my brothers were too childish for. They wouldn't handle it right, Elijah always told me. Not that I knew what those things were because he liked to remind me that I was the youngest and that it was none of my business.

''Caroline asked if we could do something this weekend.'' I quickly said, before I lost my courageous.

''Sure, you don't need my permission for that, do you?'' He actually sounded confused, like he never forbade me anything. I sighed and explained that we wanted to have a sleepover, at Caroline's. His grip on the wheel tightened and I knew what the answer would be so I said he didn't even have to bother answering. I stared out the window, trying to keep my eyes at place, not to follow everything that we passed but it was impossible because there was no point on which I could focus. What it did do, was keeping my mind of the fact that I was angry with Elijah, for not even considering it. I sometimes wished that Klaus was the oldest or Rebekah.

We stopped in front of the house but neither of us got out. I looked at my fingers, noticing blue ink stripes and dots on my hands. Not remembering when I had held my pen wrong, Elijah talked.  
''You can have the sleepover.'' Surprised, I looked up at him, feeling something was wrong. And my presumption was right.

''At our house.''

''You've got to be kidding me.'' Was the only thing I said before I opened the car and slammed the door. Of course, Elijah was already inside thanks to his vampire speed, with errands he apparently had done before picking me up from school.  
Who couldn't hate dear old Elijah?

I could.

''Change the channel, this is boring.'' Caroline commanded and I automatically obeyed. I wiped my hands clean from the chips on my black and white pyjamas, leaned forward and almost fell of the couch. I reached for the remote but got only air, the remote gone. Anger rose up in me, they had behaved so human until now, someone had to ruin it.  
''Where did it go?'' Caroline's eyes were wide with surprise and wonder, so naïve.

''Klaus!'' I yelled, even though he would've heard me if I whispered.

''Give it back, I know it was you.'' Klaus was the second youngest brother of the family and liked to mess with me. Being the only one who wasn't a vampire in a house full of them, didn't have much perks, especially when you were the youngest of six.

''Looking for this?'' Klaus asked, appearing behind me, juggling with the remote. I tried to give him my best I-hate-you-face. When my brother was bored, he did the stupidest things, like bullying me or picking a fight with the eldest brother, Elijah.

Elijah was the most mature of us all and the one I loved most. He solved our fights, was honest and maybe a little too protective which was better than not caring at all, I guessed. Between Elijah and Klaus, there were Damon and Rebekah. He was a mix of the two older brothers. Sarcastic, rude, impulsive and playful but also honest and careful. Damon was the most outgoing person. If I wanted advice on social matters, I came to him. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I looked up at him.

My sister, in the middle of the four brothers, was the normal one of the family. Last and definitely least, the youngest brother, Stefan. He couldn't care less whether I existed or not. I had no idea why he hated me but there wasn't much I could do except accepting it. Elijah had told me once that Stefan already hated me since I was little, because I replaced him as the youngest. I thought it was stupid to be jealous of that because face it, being the youngest of six kids, where four of them are guys in their puberty and vampires, didn't have a lot of advantages. I'd be happy to trade with him any day.

''Don't be so childish, Klaus, give it back.'' Elijah said, coming down the stairs, dressed in a black suit, white shirt underneath and on top a black tie.

"Why do you look so good?'' I hoped he wouldn't tell me what I thought he was going to tell me.

''Well, glad you ask. There is this new trend, nowadays, that when you stay home and plan on sitting in front of the TV all night, watching drama series with ice cream and chocolate, you dress up!'' Damon answered for him, not taking the effort to go down normal, taking the stairs but jumping down, also neatly dressed with a pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. It didn't make a sound when he hit the floor.

I sighed and let my head hang down because I had asked them to act normal, or rather human, if there were any friends around. Knowing better than to think they'd listen, I hoped. There was nothing wrong with hoping, was there?

One day, because of careless Stefan of course, who else would be so stupid, Caroline had found out about the whole vampire situation. Only knowing parts of the existence of these creatures, she didn't want to know more. Nor were we going to tell her, because she had almost fainted finding out. Not an ideal situation. At these rare occasions, I thanked god for inventing compulsion.  
Elijah had handled the mess Caroline had been, he had gotten her to relax from her hysteria and accept what was.

From the corner of my eye, I could see my friend froze when Damon jumped. She still hadn't got used to the idea of my brothers being vampires but she was getting there, I hoped. Again, it was all I could do, hoping. The reason I wasn't a bloodsucker was because after the fifth child, my mother found a way to let me survive without making me a vampire. Esther was a witch and with a friend of hers , she created a spell that let me be human but stopped my aging. I stayed seventeen for the rest of my life. Not so great because I was as weak, slow and hungry like a human. Nobody knew what my mom and her friend had done. They died the next day, the spell had taken too much of the two young witches.

Thanks to Elijah ,who gave me vervain, I couldn't be compelled. If he wouldn't let me take it every morning to protect me from other vampires, I was pretty sure my siblings would've taken advantage of it a long time ago. It's hard to live with them, especially when your parents aren't around to throw around punishments and favour the youngest.

''You're going out, with Damon?'' I couldn't believe it. Of all the times I had wanted them gone, they went when I wanted them home.

''Yes, Y-E-S.'' Damon spelled while writing the letters in the air, finishing with a big dot.

''Stefan and Klaus will stay home to look after you.'' Elijah said matter of factly. Like that didn't mean hell. Like it was wise to leave them with a human and the sister they hated. Awesome.

"And Rebekah? " I asked, hoping she'd stay home. Ignoring me, Elijah called Stefan.

''We have to stay home, at a Friday night?'' Klaus asked, still holding the remote, realizing what Elijah had just said. I crossed my arms and started pouting. Very mature, I know, but I couldn't help it. Being locked up with those two asses was the worst of the worst. If Stefan nor Klaus weren't stopped by Elijah, my night was ruined. They loved it when Elijah was gone but they hated taking care of me. Which I hated too. I've never been left alone in my entire life.

''What?'' Stefan lazily walked in, took his usual place, hanging against the wall. It was obvious he hadn't been listening and I hoped Klaus wouldn't talk. My youngest brother could go from happy to furious in one second, he was like a granate, always ready to explode. All you had to do was pull the pin. Klaus lifted me up from the couch, put me down right in front of him and kept a firm grip on my arms which made it impossible for me to struggle.

''We, brother, have to stay home so we can babysit our sister while Damon and Elijah are going out. '' I tried to break free from his grip but looked like a fly struggling against a spider's web.

''No, we don't.'' Stefan looked at me, his eyes filled with anger. And here it comes, I thought.

''I don't need a babysitter.'' I calmly said, as if someone would listen to me.

''Shut up!'' Stefan said, or kinda growled it. This was why I didn't want to have it at my house. Every chance of getting out of the house, of getting away from the supervision of any vampire, was a bless.

''I am starting to feel sorry for you, kid.'' Damon said, after seeing the faces of Stefan and Klaus. Most of the time, Rebekah or Elijah stayed with me and rarely Klaus nor Stefan. When the five of them left, Elijah always let Damon's best friend come over, Alaric. He was a tall handsome man with short brown hair and didn't have much trouble getting attention from woman, not that he actually noticed it. Alaric was one of the few old vampires that still lived like a human. When he had been changed, he had kept all his values and lived after them. I liked hanging around with Damon's best friend but I barely saw him because my brothers and sister rarely went away at the same time. Alaric was also the one that kept my brother, Damon, from doing the wrong thing. Damon was easily tempted.

''Jeez, that's helpful. '' I sarcastically responded.

Rebekah, who was wearing a strapless black dress with her blond hair hanging in loose curls, came down and made the whole party complete.

''So you too are going out?'' I asked disappointed, my last hope fainting away. She smiled and winked.

''Have fun with tweedledee and tweedledum!'' Rebekah said before leaving. So nice of her, I thought while rolling my eyes. Elijah kissed my forehead, wished me and Caroline a good night and looked meaningful at Klaus and Stefan, the former's grip getting more and more painful, the latter's look more and more murderous.

''See you laters, alligators.'' Damon said before closing and locking the old wooden door. It didn't help keeping vampires in but it did help keeping humans out. Waiting until Klaus would finally let go, I stayed just where I was until the sharp pain on my arms was gone and I started feeling bruises coming up. A door was slammed shut and that was my sigh to move again. Stefan was nowhere to be seen but I checked with Caroline first. .

''Are they gone?'' I asked her. She nodded.

''Finally.'' I said and sat down next to her, at the new leather couch. Stefan had burned the previous one. Don't ask me why.

''Are you all right? You look a little pale.''  
''It's just…Let's watch a movie.'' She answered, avoiding my question.

''I'm sorry.'' Was all I said.

While choosing a movie, Stefan came down, new clothes on and gel in his hair.

'' You can't go out, Elijah told you so.'' I pointed out while starting the trailer of a comedy.

''You can't go out, Elijah told you so.'' Stefan aped me. He was looking in the glass of the oven at his own reflection, turned his head sideways and looked satisfied. Unbelievable people could be attracted to such a dick.

''Elijah is not my boss, he is yours. Klaus and I are going out, you won't say a thing, have your little baby party and we'll get back before Damon and Elijah do. I already talked this over with Klaus, he agrees so if everyone shuts up, there won't be a problem. It's no biggie. Do you understand?''  
I nodded but I couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Elijah was always good to me and I didn't like lying to him. On the other hand, it would be the first time I was alone in this house. Stefan made some threats, the usual I-will-kill-you and all that, because he was afraid of getting caught. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, everyone listened to Elijah.

Both left through the window upstairs, because the door must've been too mainstream, without saying another word.

''I guess we finally have the house for ourselves.'' I said and pressed the start button on the remote.


	2. Chapter 2

Yesterday’s movie was good, even though it ended like any other movie, she got the boy and they married. Of the second though, I only remembered the beginning, I’d fallen asleep. When I woke up, I was lying in my bed instead of the couch, probably put there by Elijah, who apparently had carried Caroline as well seeing she was lying on the matrass next to me. When she slept, she looked really weird. Her mouth was always open, a double chin was formed, her arms were spread like a butterfly spreads its wings and her legs were curled up to her stomach. 

It made me wonder, how my brothers would look like if they’d sleep. It’d definitely be an opportunity to kill them. Nobody used their bed, except for Klaus and Stefan, they brought girls home, against Elijah’s rules, and I don’t really need to point out what they use the bed for.   
Trying not to make a sound, I tiptoed to my door, avoiding the mess, opened it and closed it again, really soft. A sudden movement behind me made me turn around and in one tenth of a second, my back was pushed against a wall. Klaus was so nice to keep me in place there, not bothered about it hurting. If I had vampire strength, I’d push him back, over the railings, but yeah, I didn’t. 

''I know you were in my room, all my stuff smells like you.‘'

I smiled, he was right. Yesterday night , me and Caroline had held a kind of photo shoot in between the two movies but I couldn’t find my camera so I went into his room and looked for his. I’d almost forgotten about it. 

''Yeah, remember I asked you I could use your camera? Yesterday night, when you were home..'' I stopped, knowing Klaus got the point. My brother gritted his teeth and looked over his shoulder to see Elijah setting the table downstairs, who was probably listening. Klaus forced a smile and let go but not without a watch-your-back glance at me. I rolled my eyes. 

''What an extensive breakfast! You've really overthrown yourself this time.''   
I wondered what Klaus meant and got down after him. He was down in a hundredth of a second, I needed half a minute. We used to play tag, when we were young, I used to be faster than Stefan and Klaus, even though I was younger. Good times. 

Seeing the table, I had to admit Klaus was right. There were four plates on the table, a dozen of different kinds of cheese, seven kind of drinks, the usual confectionary and even unhealthy food. I smiled, hoping he would let me eat some of the cake but I doubted it. Elijah only let me eat healthy, not that he could control me when I was at school but still, I sometimes really craved for chocolate pudding at the table or a cookie in the jar.

''Why four?'' I asked. Elijah said he wanted to make it up to me, for leaving yesterday and leaving me with Klaus and Stefan, where after he immediately got an answer at from Klaus, telling him that he and Stefan were the best brothers in town. Elijah and Rebeckah would join me and Caroline at the table. He thought that I would like that. I confirmed that I indeed would like that, announced I was going to get dressed and went back upstairs. I was a little worried that yesterday's event might get out into the open and that Elijah would be mad or rather hurt but I trusted Klaus and even Stefan. As long as they hadn't done something stupid, It would be all right. Our house was really big, it had to be if you lived in it with six.

The living room, with not much furniture and the best quality technology, and the kitchen, a very modern one with a kitchen island, were open, no doors involved. The stairs were on the right, going up to a kind of balcony where the second floor started, which was also open and big. Kind of like Damon’s ego.  
On the left and right were four doors, six were bedrooms with each their own bathroom and two were closets. Rebekah didn't find her bedroom big enough so she wanted another room for her clothes. The other closet was one for me but I didn't use it. Rebekah had put it full of nice clothes, like Alice had done in Twilight for Bella, but I liked dressing a little more shy. The attic was on the third floor but we never went up there, there was nothing to be seen but old rags and spiders. Thinking about it, I’ve never even been up there since we moved here. 

And last, our basement. It was like a long hallway, with a storage room, the laundry room and an empty room that had no use. I didn't like going down because it gave me cold shivers, it was a sad place. Klaus had once told me it had been used as a prison for vampires by some evil doctor, which I didn’t believe, but when I asked Damon about it, he acted so weird I didn’t know what to believe anymore. 

After breakfast, which had been a little awkward but fun for a change, I let Caroline out. She told me, after a hug, that she was glad she had finally seen my house, that she had been curious about where I lived. I smiled and explained that she could come by as often as she wanted now that she knew where it was. She said she definitely would keep it in mind and take Bonnie with her.   
We only lived here for a few months now. The fact that we didn't grow older made us move once in a while, it got people curious that you didn't age while they did. 

Last time, we stayed for four years but there were some neighbors, friends and a lot of other people getting suspicious so this time we would keep it to three, like we always did. But I didn't like it, especially since   
this was the first year that one of my friends knew about it all. Too bad, I thought. After saying goodbye, I went back in and sighed, deeply.

''Was it that bad?'' Elijah asked, raising an eyebrow.

''I can still make her forget our situation if you want me to.'' He was cleaning the table, at vampire speed, and was already done before I could answer.

''No, I’m trying to have a life, this time, you know, like normal people, where I can invite friends to come over.’’ We have had this conversation already over a million times. After the 'incident', as Stefan would like to call it, Elijah's first suggestion was to erase it from her memory but I didn't want that. He tried to talk me out of it but I kept my foot put and I haven't had a single regret ever since.  
There was another plus-side, besides the fact that I didn't have secrets for Caroline. Before the incident, my blond friend liked my blond brother, know that she knew the truth, she stayed away from Stefan. Caroline had some classes with him, even though he was one year higher than us, she had some advanced classes and had an immediate crush on him, God knows why. Have you ever seen him? Everything about him screams ‘ego’, ‘superficial’ and ‘sex’. 

I couldn't imagine my brother and best friend together and it’d be dangerous to date a vampire. Imagine Stefan getting jealous over something stupid, he wouldn’t have a problem killing and Caroline would be devastated. Yeah, best case scenario. Can’t even imagine the worst.  
So , I decided, it was for everyone's best interest if Caroline knew about this. 

It was Saturday and we all had promised a family day to Elijah. It wasn't special, it was just a day where we all did something together. My oldest brother could be a sentimental bag of tissues sometimes. Nobody really hated nor did we like it, we just gave him his pleasure. A long time ago, when psychology was starting to get known, Elijah had read that spending time as a family together, it made you closer. I just called it a TFD, it was short for The Family Day.

On the previous, we went bowling which was hilarious. Going to a normal bowling track for normal people? What had Elijah been thinking. They all had to hold back their strength, roll as soft as possible without it going hundred miles per hour. I can tell you, they sucked. Focusing on not to let the ball fly through the wall in the back, they couldn’t concentrate on the orientation so it always went into the gutter. Hard to lose from. 

In the beginning, Klaus had underestimated how strong he was and when he wanted to throw the ball , it was supposed to bounce a little and then go straight forward but it just went through the wooden floor and left a big black hole.  
Elijah was a little bit pissed off but he could laugh with it at the end. Damon and Rebekah had rolled their eyes and Stefan had burst into laughter. The owner didn't get how we had done that but after Damon compelled him, we got another track. I insisted we gave the poor guy money to fix it. 

This time, we decided to be lazy and went to the Mystic grill, a bar in town. No alcohol for me because Elijah didn't let me drink, I was only 17 years old. Do I need to say that I was 17 for over a hundred years? To my brother, it didn’t matter. I did convince him to let me have a driver’s license, where after I, as anyone would, expected to drive. Not on Elijah’s watch apparently. He insisted I shouldn’t be risking my life in traffic. Not that living with five vampires was more dangerous, not at all. If I had parents, I could at least argue with them or make an agreement, try that with a vampire. If he said no, it was no. 

Me, Elijah and Rebeckah took the car, Damon, Klaus and Stefan ran. Taking the car was like crawling to your destination for vampires. Damon once put me next to a snail and said I could only follow the snail’s speed. After a minute or two, I gave up and got his point. 

The mystic grill was rather empty but it was only seven o' clock.  
We sat down on the old wooden chairs while Klaus and Damon were discussing whether blood was more tasteful from a vein in the pulse, neck or thigh. Elijah didn't like them talking about it when I was there so he tried to shut them up. Didn’t work. Rebeckah thought it was the neck, Damon the thigh. Apparently, nobody like the pulse.  
They were all trying to defend their point of view and I was just mending where I could but I soon got bored. I didn't get why they liked talking about their food so I started looking around, making up bio’s about random people in the Grill. After thinking that the old man in the corner was secretly a pirate, someone caught my eye.   
Behind the bar, I recognized a guy from school. After telling Elijah I was going to ask for Wifi, I went to talk with him. He was looking good today, he had a loose white shirt on with a little bit V-neck that went well with his black pair of jeans. His blond hair was messy in a hot way, not the hobo kind of way. 

''Hi.'' I said while placing myself at one of the bar stools.

''Hi, you’re from school, right?'' the quarterback replied with a big smile and I was surprised at how white his teeth were, they were beautiful. ''Yeah, I am Elena.''

''I'm Matt. You don't come here often.'' He stated. I shook my head as a confirmation and looked at the chart. A quick glance over my shoulder told me Elijah wasn’t paying attention to me and was in the midst of a discussion with Damon. I could risk it.

''I'll have a white martini please.'' I said, excited to feel alcohol running through my veins again. 

While making it, he asked me about my ‘friends’, the group that was loudly laughing and talking. I answered it were my siblings but closed that topic and started about something else. He gave me the martini and it tasted delicious, it was so much better than water.

'Well, if that isn't illegal.'' Hearing his voice, I sighed and held on to the glass. Damon always needed to interfere. An amazing brother, he was. 

''Do you always get seventeen year old’s drunk? I’d think you, looking the way you look, would have no trouble hitting on girls, why get them wasted?’’ My brother motioned him to come closer, and gave him some advice. ‘’That’s for the ugly people, don’t go there.’’ Damon winked at him while showing his friendliest smile. Matt just stared at him, his face not showing any sign of emotion, except for maybe confusion. Most people felt intimidated by Damon and his charming ways, but this guy seemed self-sure. Yeah, looking at a vampire like that, you must have some balls, I thought. Even though he didn’t know he was looking at the animal that could kill him in a sec. 

''If you don't introduce me, I'll do. Hi, Damon.'' He held out his hand to Matt who shook it back. With his other, he took my Martini away while I thought he hadn’t been looking. I had been so close. 

''Matt , Matt Donovan.'' The bartender replied. After the usual ''nice to meet you'' and ''you should visit some time'' followed by a goodbye, Damon took me back to our table, drinking the martini.

Was I interested in Matt? No. What did I like about him? Nothing. Why did I fall for him? I didn’t.   
I rolled my eyes after Rebekah’s interrogation and Elijah’s lecture about how alcohol damaged my brain, I should listen to him, yadda yadda yadda. After both Damon and Klaus petted me on the head and told me to be ‘a good girl’ next time, they went back to talking about their previous subject, which happened to be whether a boy or a girl was easier to seduce.  
After an hour, Elijah and Rebekah went away, they had some ''business'' to attend, God knows what. No, even God probably didn’t know, it was Elijah we were talking about after all. And he was the guy who made us do these TFD’s. Stefan too went away and not much later, Damon had seen a girl he fancied, which left me and Klaus.

We decided to sit down at the bar because it was just the two of us.   
''I won't tell if you won't.'' I looked meaningful at Klaus.   
''You know how I feel about that whole 'we need to protect you' thing. Do whatever you like.''   
I smiled, that was the answer I had been waiting for. I ordered two martini’s, a white and a red one.   
''I still don't get what you like about a white martini.'' Klaus looked at in disgust where after I offered him to taste and he did but instead of swallowing, he spit it out on Matt and growled. I raised an eyebrow, this was not vampire-like.  
''Vervain.'' Klaus mouthed. My eyes widened and I looked at Matt. Did he know? How could he know? Maybe he knew some vampires or was he himself a vampire! Right before I was about to ask, Klaus's hand was covering my mouth. It stunk like dead animals and was cold as ice.   
''Don't.'' he said, still holding his hand there. Matt started to look worried and doubted whether to interfere or not. I clawed at his hand which didn’t work, so I licked it, Klaus let go and dramatically wiped his hands on his pants.  
''Why not?'' I asked.  
''Because I say so.'' He looked around, put his jacket on, threw the keys of the car on the bar and left, without saying anything. I sighed.  
Well, I could drive myself home this time, it had been a long time. Matt asked what that was about but I shrugged it away, said it was just a big brother thing. Fortunately, he left it at that and I kept suppressing the urge to ask him about vampires.   
We talked for a while, and I came to know a lot about him and found that we had several things in common. Matt had an older sister, Vicky, who I hadn't met yet, and both of his parents were dead. He and Vicky lived on their own, in the house they grew up in. He was a good-humoured guy but he sometimes had a difficult time with the money, he had some debts. I felt bad for him and made a mental note. After two more hours, I left and went home, wondering where Klaus had gone too.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Monday and there was a new kid at school, a girl named Jenna. At least, that's what Caroline told me, where after I got a very detailed description of how she looked which was okay according to Caroline's norms. The blonde always knew everything, and she was almost always right. When I saw the new girl myself, I had to say she looked exactly like Caroline had described. Ready to go after packing my stuff, I realized that a quiet girl with light brown hair was still standing in the back of the classroom while everyone else was already gone. I saw her looking doubtful at a paper she had in her hands. How had Caroline called her again? I didn't remember, damn it. Stupid brains, can’t remember a name but knows the whole periodic table. It turned out the paper was a schedule of the classes she followed with all the classrooms numbers next to it.

''History is in building B, it's not far away from here.'' I said, while pointing to the B-block, and scared the girl who rapidly turned her head to me.  
''I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I'm Elena, you?'' I asked, trying to make her feel more comfortable. She looked like a scared rabbit, trapped in a corner.   
I knew how it was to be the new girl, I knew it all too well. Always needing to get to know the school, get lost so many times, make new friends, not knowing what to do in the beginning, it was hard.   
''Hi, I'm Jenna.'' The girl told me where after she gave me a shy smile. Now I remembered. Jenna, Jenna, Jenna. It’s not even a difficult name for Christ sake.   
I sucked at remembering names and faces, it was something I had to live with but I didn't find it so troubling as much as the people who I forgot. Most of them didn't mind and got that it wasn't personal but some got really mad and felt , well, forgotten. Don’t blame me if you’re not very extraordinary and you just slip out of my mind.   
I suggested that I would guide her to the building because I had my next class in the room across. She seemed to doubt about it but quickly decided to agree. While we were walking, I asked Jenna, a name I found that sounded old, where she came from and why she had moved here. Jenna explained that her father had been transferred for work so she came along with him. She had no siblings, and she was glad about that but when I asked her why, she couldn't answer.   
I was glad I had my siblings, sometimes. I could definitely miss a few but being an only child? I wonder how it would’ve been liking without Damon comforting me at night when we were little, without Rebekah giving me advice on boys. And without Stefan bullying me. I could really do without the last one, I decided.


	3. Chapter 3

The rain fell down on the window, it made the same hypnotic noise over and over without an end. I was sitting on the window shelf, looking at the blurry world outside. So this is how fish in a bowl saw everything, I thought. I’d been sitting there for so long that I didn’t feel my butt anymore so I stood up, checking whether I still had it. Deciding to do a little research, I wandered around the house.  
The first room I passed was Rebekah's. I looked inside, it was cleaner than my belly button with not one thing coloured pink. Rebekah must’ve been gone away without telling me, because she had been here a couple of minutes ago. I shrugged and while I was walking to the next room, I gave our old painting another, automatic glance. It showed us, the boys standing, me and Rebekah sitting on a chair in front, six vampires. Well, five and me, I didn't know what I was exactly. 

I didn't need blood to survive, I could live on human food, I slept, in contrary to my siblings, I wasn't unnecessarily strong nor extraordinary beautiful, I was just not getting older. End of story. I wished that I was stronger though, that I was at least able to defend myself, then Elijah wouldn't freak out so much if I went somewhere alone, which according to me was never and according to him too often. The painting had been made around 1800, when a camera didn't exist yet, one of the few things we took with us whenever we moved. 

I walked further and stood in front of Stefan's closed door. He didn't like to be disturbed, especially when his door didn’t stand open, so I knocked. No answer. I knocked twice. Again no answer. I tried to open it but it was locked, which made me curious of the reason. The next door on my way was Klaus's. It was wide open, like usual, and showed a very messy room. Because I had nothing better to do, I snooped around, my scent was probably already all over his stuff from the day before yesterday. After a couple of minutes, and finding nothing, I hid some of his stuff, in his own room, out of boredom. I chose some things I had never seen before, one was a triangle with an eye on it, another was a portrait from a girl he had loved. The date was on the back, 1658. It was a cute heart shaped necklace that was easy to hid between his underwear, which I refused to touch with my hands. The last thing I hid was a beautiful key, it had curls all over it, at the top shelve behind his pants. I was curious whether he would even notice it missing. 

My tour through the house wasn't over yet, I had two more rooms to search in, even though I wasn't exactly looking for something. Damon's room was next. It had been a long time since I had a sneak in there, I couldn't even remember how it looked. He liked his privacy a lot so the door was never open and I nor , I thought, the other siblings knew anything about his life outside the house. Sometimes I accidently heard him on the phone, the things he said made me think he had a girlfriend. I once asked him about it but he just said it wasn't my business and that I needed to stop eaves dropping, which I didn't. Damon has a very loud voice. Standing in front of his door, I got nervous. If Damon saw me doing this...His door was probably locked, but it still felt like I betrayed him by even feeling if it was open or not. I started to place my hand on the door when another hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.

'' What do you think you're doing?'' Damon asked. I didn't even try to look not guilty, I'm not that good of an actress. I just looked down to the floor and saw all the dirt on Damon's shoes. It looked like mud and blood.  
''Where have you been?'' I asked, actually curious but also to distract him from the fact that I was doing the thing he hated most: invading his privacy.  
''Don't try to-'' he started to say but I interrupted him.  
''Don't you try, where have you been? There is blood on your shoes.'' He crossed his arms and looked annoyed.  
"I am a vampire, when I drink, I sometimes-'' Damon was cut off by Elijah, who apparently had entered the house which I would’ve known if I had vampire hearing. Fuck my life.  
"Damon!'' Elijah warned.  
''I can handle it. '' I said, even though I didn’t want to hear how he killed someone but I couldn’t let Elijah win on this. ''Go on.''

Damon raised an eyebrow, looked at Elijah who was taking the groceries out and started whispering. ''I ripped her throat-'' but he couldn't finish because Elijah already had his hand over his mouth.  
''You should stop talking.'' The voice of my oldest brother cold as ice. Damon punched his hand off like it was nothing and I was jealous. I wanted to be able to do that.  
''She said she could handle it.''  
''And I say she doesn't. I'm the eldest and what I say counts. Help me with the groceries, Elena. There are still a few more in the car. Thank you.'' I sighed, walked down and did what I was asked while I heard them mad whispering at each other. I was curious about the things they were saying. I literally knew almost nothing about everything that comes with being a vampire. Violence was against the rules of Elijah, talking about blood or anything that had something to do with it was forbidden. The reason? Because I wouldn't be able to cope with it. Of course it was just because I never got to deal with it that I wouldn't be able to cope. But as always, nobody listened to me. I put the heavy bags filled with vegetables and fruits on the kitchen island.  
''How was your day?" Elijah asked, coming back from upstairs.  
''Boring as hell because you didn't let me out of the house."  
"You know why."  
‘ "Because it's dangerous right now." ‘ I quoted him. ''But what is? And for how long? Why won't you tell me?" I nagged, for the fiftieth time.  
"Because, " he sighed, "that's all you need to know." I rolled my eyes and pouted.  
''Please!'' I begged.  
''No, and that is the last thing said about it. '' Elijah gave me that cold look he only gave people when he was as serious as an alcoholic is over his alcohol, which is pretty serious. I never knew anything, they kept everything from me. It wasn't fair, just because I was the youngest and not a vampire. 

Most of the time, I was glad not being one of them but sometimes, it made me feel like an outsider, like I wasn't a part of my own family. I wanted to be as strong and as fast as they were, helping them solve things, helping them to defend the citizens. But I was useless, a waste of time, the helpless baby they needed to babysit day and night, for the rest of their lives.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
My second day of not going anywhere and doing nothing. I couldn't do it again.  
As soon as Elijah would walk out the door, I’d be gone too, I promised myself. I had human needs, which vampires of course didn't understand. But until Elijah left, I needed something to do so I started reading The Catcher in The Rye. We needed to read it for English and even though I had already read it when it was popular in the '50s, I wanted to read it again. Maybe I’d forgotten something. You never knew.  
At page twelve, Elijah announced he was going to do some business stuff with the leader of the wolves. I told him to be careful because of their ability to kill him with a single bite but he reminded me that we had Klaus, our hybrid, who could cure him. I told him again, to be careful. Five minutes after he left, I put the book down and took my coat. The keys of the house were still in its pocket and with every step I took they rattled. Closing the door, I changed my mind about taking my bike and decided to make a walk. It wasn't long before I got to the woods that surrounded our house, the air thick and the rocks slippery. I loved the fresh air, not the here-have-two-vampires-been-letting-farts-on-purpose air from the house. I closed my eyes and sat down on a fallen tree but not for long because when I opened them, I saw something red by a big oak tree a couple of feet further, it was hard not to see. I narrowed my eyes but couldn't figure out what it was so I walked closer and the shape started to get more familiar. It was a bike, a red one. How had it gotten here? This was private ground so nobody was allowed to enter, nobody could enter. We had gates all around the woods. I looked around but saw nobody, no movements nor sound.  
''Hello?" was the only thing I could think of to scream. It was what people screamed in movies, and honestly, I now got why they did it. It wasn’t to get an answer, it was just hoping nobody would actually answer.  
"Above you." A male voice said. I looked up and saw a handsome, muscled guy sitting on the third branch which was the longest of the tree.  
''What are you doing? Do you happen to have a secret monkey-wish?’’ I asked, crossing my arms. The stranger laughed and jumped on the branch right under the one he had gotten off.  
‘’Who knows, maybe I’d rather be a bird.’’  
He hopped down as if he had been doing it as long as he lived. He jumped of a little bit too easy. ''What are you? A Wolf?'' I asked, forgetting that not everyone knew about their existence.  
''Apparently, I’m a monkey. Or a bird, I don’t know. ‘’ He answered and smiled but when I didn’t smile back, he sighed. ‘’I could be a vampire.'' He said with a shrug. ''What makes you think I'm not a dead one living?''  
''Because you wouldn't have come by bike. Vampires are fast runners.'' The wolf, so I thought, looked at me.  
''So are wolves.’’

‘’In wolf form, which means you’re a know-it-all, bird, monkey, wolf, vampire and a liar.’’  
''Because I can’t be all of those things?'' 

I nodded and crossed my arms, wondering what smart-ass answer he was going to give me now.  
In normal circumstances, I would've gone back to the house, told this guy to get off our land and watch TV. But I was so bored that I liked having someone to talk to.  
''You still haven't answered my question.''  
''Which one?''  
''All of them.''  
He sat down on the ground, leaning to the tree with his hands behind his back.  
''You feel easy at home, don't you? I’m going for monkey.'' I sat down as well, on one of the lower branches but made sure I was still higher than him. The guy had his eyes closed and a smile formed on his face but disappeared quickly.  
''I'm a wolf, as you expected.'' His eyes opened again and they narrowed, focusing on my face. As if examining my reaction to the fact that he’s a wolf. Was I supposed to be surprised? Why did he look at me like that?  
''I know what you're thinking. And I'm definitely not proud of it. But I want you to know that it wasn't my fault, I had to.'' 

I was confused, what was he talking about?  
''Hold your horses, what am I thinking?'' I asked him. 

He started laughing but it was not long before he got serious again. ''I've never heard anyone use that expression.''  
I looked at the ground, ashamed. He was the first wolf I ever met and he was just laughing at me. 

''Hey, don't feel so embarrassed. I was just joking. Anyway, '' he started again  
''where was I..'' he wondered out loud, tapping his finger at his chin.  
''You apparently know better than me what I was thinking.''  
''You really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?'' he asked, looking at me with a curious look. Now it switched from expecting to curious. He had more emotions than crayons had colours.  
''No , I don't.'' I refused to look in his eyes. I moved from a sitting position to a lying position so that I had a view of the sky and the leaves on the tree.  
''I'm a wolf.'' He said, again. As if I were stupid.  
''Really?'' I pretended to be shocked.  
''You have to do something before you become a wolf.''  
I frowned, thinking about everything Elijah had told me about wolves.  
''Aren't people born as a wolf?''  
''No, we are born with the genes to become a wolf but that's it. You still have to activate it.''  
I had never heard of that, I just thought they were born and transformed at the full moon since they were a baby. ''And how do you do that?'' I asked when a long silence fell.  
‘'Kill someone.'' I didn't know what to say so I stayed quiet. Neither one of us felt like talking, so we listened to the sounds of nature, the wind blowing leaves of the trees, animals jumping from one branch to another, birds singing.  
Suddenly a hand was shaking my arm, and I fell of the branch where I, apparently, had been sleeping on.  
''Ouch.'' I said, rubbing my arm.  
''You fell asleep on a tree?'' Rebekah said while giving me the you-can't-be-my-sister look. I rolled my eyes and stood up. Ignoring her, I looked around. No sign that a wolf/monkey/bird/vampire/know-it-all had been here.  
''Why did it smell like wolves there?'' Rebekah pulled up her nose, like it smelled very bad.  
''I don't know.'' I said, too quick.  
For some reason, I felt like I wasn't allowed to speak about…him. I was lying for someone whose name I didn't even know. Great.  
''Well if you don't want Elijah asking questions about it, I suggest you take a long shower. Even your clothes smell like it. '' She winked like we had a secret together and walked with me to the house, human speed. As soon as we got in, I took a shower and changed, hoping nothing was left of the smell, what couldn't be washed away were the questions that were going through my head.


End file.
